San Jose State police sued over fatal shooting

The family of a man shot dead by a San Jose State University police sergeant last year filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday.

Antonio Lopez Guzman, 38, had a 12-inch saw blade similar to a drywall cutter when he was shot by Sgt. Mike Santos, a 15-year department veteran, on the southern edge of campus about 11 a.m. on Feb. 21, authorities said.

Campus police had been investigating reports of someone armed with a knife. Santos and Officer Frits van der Hoek found Guzman, and he charged them, prompting them to shock him with a Taser, officials said.

The device did not stop his advance, officials said, and Santos shot Guzman, who was pronounced dead at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose on behalf of Guzman’s son, a minor identified only as J.A.L. It says neither officer had commanded Guzman to stop before Santos fired “without warning,” hitting him twice in the back.

The force used by Santos “while he was unarmed and not a threat to the officers” was excessive, the suit says. The complaint names Santos and van der Hoek as defendants. Neither has responded to the suit in court.

Both officers were equipped with body cameras, but they “malfunctioned and the incident was not recorded,” says the complaint, citing statements by university officials.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee